MUSSELS, LEEKS, BACON & CIDER

Moules marinière has become a recipe that I particularly enjoy playing around with, adding ’nduja or smoked haddock, using vermouth instead of wine, clams instead of mussels… and this little number with dry cider, smoky bacon and freshly dug leeks is particularly special.

SERVES 2-3

H 200g smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped

H 1 tbsp olive oil

H 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

H 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

H 400g leeks, finely chopped

H 1kg mussels

H large glass of dry cider

H 150ml double cream

H proper handful of finely chopped fresh parsley

H warm baguettes, for serving

1 In a large saucepan, fry the bacon with a little olive oil to render out the fat, then chuck in the garlic and fennel seeds, if using. Let them gently infuse for a few minutes, then add the leeks. Season well with a generous pinch of salt and cook the leeks right down until they are sweet and tender. You don’t want any colour, so add a splash or two of water, if needed, to stop them catching.

2 While the leeks are cooking, keeping half an eye on the pan, you can prep the mussels. I pour them into a basin and submerge them in cold water with a generous handful of salt. This cleans any grit off the shells and refreshes the mussels. Then, with a big bowl next to me, I’ll sift through the mussels one by one, pulling off the beard (I often use a small pair of pliers to save my fingers when cooking a potful) and giving any open mussels a tap to make sure they close. The idea is that the mussel keeps its shell closed when it’s alive, and when cooked the shell opens, revealing the lovely meat within. So if an uncooked mussel doesn’t close with a tap, it’s to be avoided. If they don’t open once they’re cooked, avoid those too. It’s also worth noting that just because a shell is broken, it doesn’t mean that the mussel is bad.

3 From here it’s fast and snappy. Make sure the pan is hot, pour the cider into the leeks and get it steaming, then chuck in the mussels and put the lid on. Give the pan a little shimmy and don’t touch the lid for 2 minutes. Take the lid off and turn the mussels with a spoon as the ones at the bottom will have cooked faster than those at the top.

4 Put the lid back on for a minute or two – essentially, the minute the shells open they’re cooked, so you want to get the pan off the heat. Add the cream and parsley, a good crack of pepper and season with salt. Give the pot a big stir to mingle those flavours. Serve piping hot in deep bowls with lots of the sauce, the warm baguettes and glasses of cold cider. Heaven!